Featured Letter: What Everyone Should Do After Attempting Their First 5K

I wanted to share my story about what I think everyone should do after attempting to run their first 5K. My daughter was kind enough to help out with the photo. I'm currently on week 5, day 1 of my couch-to-5K program and doing great! I've been struggling with lung capacity for about a year but my oncologist gave his blessings and I'm happy to report I feel better already! So much so that I bought myself another bike! It’s a 2006 Yamaha XT225 with 1200 miles, a few nice add-ons like fold up mirrors, bigger pegs, rack, etc.

Last Sunday afternoon, I needed a little pick-me-up so I told the husband I was going down to Starbucks. While there, I checked Craigslist, which has been a habit since starting to ride 4+years ago. I found an interesting ad. A seller in Ellensburg had two XT225s for sale. Everything sounded good on either bike and I was the second caller. The first caller already had dibs on the slightly older bike so I asked to hold the second bike. It was located about an hour and a half away and over a mountain pass. So I head out from Starbucks--no call home or anything. When I arrived, the first buyer had already bought the bike with lower miles. But I test rode the other and it was so fun and tiny compared to my Electra Glide. I was really looking at that second XT for sale when buyer #1 said that he lived just north of me and would drop my bike off for me in his truck. That sealed the deal. I wrote a check, got the title, hopped in the car and was home from "Starbucks" in under 3.5 hours. I don't think the husband noticed, so the dilemma was when to tell him I bought another bike. I could tell him right away or the next evening when the bike was off-loaded. My husband doesn't ride, but to his credit he said, "cool!". Gotta love it!

Karen “Biird” Allen

Wenatchee, WA